The Guilty Pleasure

I WAS IN MY STUDIO GLAZING TODAY. I HAVE ONE OF THOSE LARGE PAINT MIXERS FOR STIRRING UP GLAZE.oops. caps lock on.My teacher/prof aslways said to wash all your equipment when you move from one glaze to the next. What I do... I mix up my white glaze. Then I USE THE SAME PROPELLOR without washing, and mix up my Celadon. Then I mix up my purple glaze. Then I mix up my Temmoku,[iron saturate]. After everything, I might run the propellor in a bucket of almost clean water.But, I did not wash between glazes.!!!!What do you do, that you know in your heart of hearts, you should not be doing![I AM TALKING ABOUT STUDIO PRACTISE HERE, NOT ANYTHING ELSE YOU MIGHT BE THINKING ABOUT. caps lock on again! I give up.TJR.WHEN I WAS WRITING THIS, MY TWO 13 YEAR OLD BOYS WERE BATTING A BALOON AROUND THE ROOM BEHIND MY HEAD AND MY 15 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS TALKING LOUDLY IN MY EAR. I AM SURPRISED THAT THIS EVEN MAKES SENSE!tjr

Every once in a spell, I grab an ugly, failing pot off the wheel and throw it at the wall... usually accompanied by a barrage of F'nheimers. Very cathartic... but probably not the best practice in a residential neighborhood...

May be you'll get a new and exciting glaze out of your mistake that you'll never be able to duplicate. Kohaku is very low key in his expression on frustration, I used to break and throw away all the work in my studio including the finished pieces. Break something it will make you feel better. Denice

I do lots of things that my very excellent teacher has told me not to do! I don't measure the inside of my pots for the foot before trimming! I sometimes don't measure to see how much of a bottom I have before trimming, preferring to,tap on the bottom, and if it should feel like I am about to break through, I know I trimmed enough! I will glaze improperly, or be throwing with the wheel going too quickly. I dont clean the glaze off the bottoms enough. I am quite rebellious! And she catches me every time! I swear, she is like that teacher who,has eyes and ears in the back of her head!

I have actually learned very proper, correct ways of doing everything from her, but I am often lazy and impatient, so I mess up. I finally realized it is better to do things right, and take my time, then rush, and have sloppy work. Well, I am learning that.
Nancy

I've found that I'm actually putting more air bubbles in when I DO wedge. Am doing something wrong ......

Yes. New potters are tempted to wedge clay the way they knead dough for bread (or the way they've seen dough kneaded). That mixes the clay just fine but can actually wedge air into the clay. You probably just need to learn to wedge in a spiral way so that the clay looks sort of like a nautilus shell. The sure way to get air out is to to use the cut-and-slap method. Just google "wedging clay" to find videos showing how to do both.

I guess I don't trim and stick handles when I should. I let the clay get too dry then end up dipping it in water to rehydrate it. For some reason it seems there should be negative consequences to this, but unless it's changing color I seem to get away with it.

I don't always clean all of my tools (including the wheel/splash pan) after I'm done for the day. I haven't swept/mopped/cleaned my studio floor since I started using it as a studio, and I have my wheel and most of my work area on a large rug. (I know it's a huge "no-no," but it's not heated in there and I prefer to work in my bare feet!)

Oh, and there's canvas on my wedging board - because otherwise there'd be chunks of plaster in my clay.

(NB: I don't do pottery as a full-time job, so this doesn't bother me....but I know there are bunches of you out there just cringing at this!)

I eat and drink in the studio. And during weekends I will have a glass of wine while working.
I Always sieve my slip before pouring. I always use a timer to remind when to decant. There is so many rules that I follow, and will never break, because the rule makes sense to me.
But, I do remove the bungs just after the kiln completed it's cycle (when I am at the studio at that moment) and close it again at 750C (1382F). I open my top bungs at 220C (428F). I crack open the door at 180C (356F), and will remove a new piece immediately if I had remembered to put it in the front.

I keep a coffee pot in the studio, and keep a pot of coffee available at all times. Also, I have a tv in the studio, with a DVD player, and I either watch/listen to the news or watch/listen to a DVD. I know I could probably get a lot more done with no TV, but it is company for me.

I keep a coffee pot in the studio, and keep a pot of coffee available at all times. Also, I have a tv in the studio, with a DVD player, and I either watch/listen to the news or watch/listen to a DVD. I know I could probably get a lot more done with no TV, but it is company for me.

Have to have my coffee in the studio. Lately I find I leave the heat on longer than I should, too cold here at night to not keep a small heater on. Clean ups-very lax on this, usually clean up after a session, but often just before a new start-bad idea. Yes I have canvas on my concrete wedging table, and have other things besides ceramics stored in the studio.